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Friday, January 8, 2010

Beef, Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup in (get this) my Crock Pot!!!

The other day I was going through my freezer looking for what I could pull out and use up this week. I found a round steak that was in there from last year when I had ordered a 1/4 of a cow (Happy Meat). For some reason this steak was never eaten, probably because it was just one and not enough to feed all four of us…Anyway I pulled it out and thawed it to make some Beef Barley soup. Well, we know how plans change and recipes morph into other things so here is what I came up with…

1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the meat and brown well. Add more oil if needed. Remove the meat and place it in your Crock Pot (I used a 5 or 6 quart Crock Pot). 2. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the celery, onions and garlic and stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent and soft. Increase the heat to medium add the red wine to deglaze the pan (scrape the bottom to loosen the brown bits). 3. Add your onion mixture to the Crock Pot along with the mushrooms, water, and salt. Turn your Crock Pot on low and let cook for at least 5 hrs. About 1 hr before eating add the barley, thyme, white pepper and the savory and cook until the barley is cooked. Taste before serving and add beef base as needed.

***This was an absolutely delicious soup and it was even better the next day! Serve it with a nice slice of crusty bread and you have a fantastic week night meal!